Biography
Fernanda is a built environment scientist who is fascinated by complex systems, convergence research, community engagement and sustainability. Her professional background in Architecture, Urban Planning, and Civil, Environmental, and Sustainable Engineering gives her a unique perspective of the complex challenges of buildings and cities. Her main research focus is the Circular Economy. Above all, she strives to understand and include the “human in the equation” in engineering problems and contribute to sustainable, resilient, and equitable built environments.
Degrees / Education
- PhD, Civil, Environmental, and Sustainable Engineering, Arizona State University, 2018
- BS, Architecture and Urban Planning, Universidade Federal da Bahia (Brazil), 2012
Research Areas
Areas of Study
Select Publications
- Temizel-Sekeyran, S., Cruz Rios, F., Geremicca, F., & Bilec, M. (2023). Circular Design and Embodied Carbon in Living Buildings: The Missing Potential. Journal of Architectural Engineering, 29(3): 04023013-1.
- Babbitt, C., Athaf, S., Graedel, T., Cruz Rios, F., & Bilec, M. (2021). The role of design in circular economy solutions for critical materials. One Earth (Cell Press), 4 (3), 353-362.
- Cruz Rios, F., Panic, S., Grau, D., Khanna, V., & Bilec, M. (2021). Exploring circular economies in the built environment from a complex systems perspective: A systematic review and conceptual model at the city scale. Sustainable Cities and Society, 103411.
- Berry, B., Farber, B., Chakraborty, S., Haedicke, M., Lowden, S., Cruz Rios, F., Bilec, M., & Isenhour, C. (2021). Just by Design: Exploring justice as a multidimensional concept in U.S. circular economy discourse. Local Environment.
- Cruz Rios, F., Grau, D., & Bilec, M. (2021) Barriers and Enablers to Circular Building Design in the U.S.: An Empirical Study. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 147 (10), 04021117
- Cruz Rios, F., Berry, B., Zappitelli, J., Khanna, V., Isenhour, C., Bilec, M. M. (2021). Why Bother? Environmental and social implications of using durable building products. 4th PLATE 2021 Conference Proceedings, Product Lifetimes and the Environment.
- Cruz Rios, F., & Grau, D. (2020). Design for Disassembly: An analysis of the practice (or lack thereof) in the United States. Construction Research Congress 2020. American Society of Civil Engineers.
- Cruz Rios, F., Grau, D., & Chong, W. K. (2019). Reusing exterior wall framing systems: A cradle-to-cradle comparative life cycle assessment. Waste Management, 94, 120–135.
- Cruz Rios, F., Chong, W. K., & Grau, D. (2015). Design for Disassembly and Deconstruction - Challenges and Opportunities. Procedia Engineering, 118, 1296–1304.